In a bid to support local manufacturing of electronic products in the country, the Indian government said it has decided to reduce customs duties on smartphones, TVs, electric vehicles, and other electronic products.
Custom Duties
This was announced by the county’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman while introducing the 2023 federal budget.
Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the Indian government has proposed reducing import duties on mobile phone camera lenses and their components used in the production of mobile phone camera modules to 0% from 2.5%. He further pointed out that the government has also proposed to reduce the Basic Duty (BCD) rate from 21% to 13% for products other than agricultural and textiles.
“In order to further strengthen the added value of domestic mobile phone production, the government will extend the preferential tariff for lithium-ion batteries for another year, – Nirmala Sitharaman.”
Govt. Initiatives for local manufacturing of Electronic Products
Moreover, the finance minister further asserted that numerous government initiatives, such as the phased manufacturing plan, led to an increase in India’s mobile phone production from 5.8 million units in 2014–2015 to 31 million units annually, totaling more than 2,750 billion Indian rupees.
Additionally, he stated that tariff-free imports of capital goods and machinery required to make lithium-ion batteries used in electric car batteries would be allowed until March 31, 2024.
Finally, the Minister added that the Faculty of Engineering will establish 100 laboratories to develop applications utilizing 5G services, opening up a variety of new options, economic models, and employment chances.
